This invention relates to a training aid and, more particularly, to a device which kicks a football or soccer ball, and which assists in teaching a player to correctly block or otherwise defend against a kicked football or soccer ball, or to respond to a kicked ball.
The effective defense against a kicked football or soccer ball is not always readily learned. Balls kicked by players vary in trajectory and force, introducing an undesirable variability into the training experience. Further, repeated kicks by a player tire the player, decrease the precision of the ball's trajectory and speed, and increase the opportunity for injuries. The specialization of football players and teams increases the importance of defensive and offensive lines and backs being trained separately in specific techniques, and in kickers being trained separately in their specific skills.
The effective evaluation of players by coaches also requires observation of players' responses to repeated, realistic but controlled situations.
Thus, the correct training for effective defensive and offensive techniques regarding a kicked football or soccer ball, and the evaluation of personnel, would be enhanced by the availability of a device which reproducibly projected a football or soccer ball in the trajectory and with the force corresponding to a kicked ball. Further, there is a need for such a device that is portable, and does not require power from a fixed source.
Accordingly, it is desirable to present a device which kicks a football or soccer ball in a trajectory and with a force corresponding to a ball as kicked by a player.
Known prior art devices have not addressed the above problems. Various patents disclose devices and complex apparatus designed to hold footballs or soccer balls for kicking, or to project footballs in a trajectory corresponding to a thrown football, in a flat trajectory from shoulder height. Such devices and apparatus are aimed at training of kickers or of pass receivers and defenders, not of the players defending against, or responding to, a kicked football or soccer ball. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,477,077; U.S. Pat. No. 4,711,043; U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,880; U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,973; U.S. Pat. No. 5,435,572; U.S. Pat. No. 6,089,217).